


Antagonists

by gh0st1nn1t



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst and Feels, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, Developing Friendships, Dream Is Like Tommys Older Brother, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Dream's TRYING, Enemies to Friends, Exiled TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Ghost Wilbur Soot, Hurt Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Just Friends, Lonely TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romance, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Wilbur Soot, Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Toby Smith | Tubbo Angst, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0st1nn1t/pseuds/gh0st1nn1t
Summary: After barely saving Tommy from plunging into lava, Dream became somewhat worried for the teenager, and assigned himself the role of watching over him, making sure Tommy didn't try anything like that again. He'd always been painted as the villain, and, to be truthful, he was sometimes, but this time? No, this was genuine concern. And he was going to make sure Tommy was okay no matter what.Tommy hated it. He felt like eyes were burning into his soul at every waking moment. After his moment of weakness in the Nether, he never had a moment alone, and sure, he would've been glad for that, he would've thanked any god there could possibly be that he was no longer alone, except the problem was with his company...the one rival he'd had for years.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), THEYRE LIKE BROTHERS NOT LOVERS FFS, platonically - Relationship
Comments: 209
Kudos: 772





	1. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT ROMANTIC AT ALL FFS  
> IF U SHIP THIS THEN UR GROSS FUCK OFF  
> AYY IF UR HERE FROM MY OTHER DREAM SMP STORY ILY :DD THIS IS THE ONE I WAS TELLING YALL ABT WHERE DREAM N TOMMY R ACTUALLY FRIENDS   
> tw//////  
> -mentions of tommy attempting suicide in the past (FAILED!!!!!!)  
> -mentions of stopping a suicide attempt  
> -arguing

Dream was not expecting to be spending his saturday afternoon with Tommy fucking Innit. Especially not by choice.

Seemingly, neither did Tommy, as he kept rambling some shit about how ‘Dream was losing his mind’. 

Truthfully, Dream was worried about Tommy. After their latest visit to the Nether, and Dream caught Tommy with one-foot off the edge, preparing to fall into the lava, he’d been terrified for the kid. He’d never admit it though. No, of course not. He and the child had a rivalry, they were enemies, they weren’t supposed to feel remorse.

Dream had been the damn one to suggest the idea of exiling Tommy to Tubbo, it was _his fault!_ Surely he shouldn’t feel regret _now_. Not after he’d already gotten the teenager exiled from the home Dream watched him build with stars in his eyes, surrounded by friends and family. 

However, Dream found himself returning to Logstedshire daily, spending all day with the teen, doing whatever he could to distract the miserable kid. If Tommy even suggested going to the nether, Dream’s nerves would skyrocket and he’d shut down the idea immediately. The guilt would set in after seeing the defeat on Tommy’s face, but he refused to give in. No way was he going to risk letting Tommy out of his vision for a second only to have Tommy attempt to jump in the lava again. He didn’t know if he could live with the guilt and the blood on his hands.

In fact, he’d returned to L’Manberg once, pulling Tubbo aside. His worry for Tommy had gotten so bad he’d suggested completely forgetting about the exile and letting him return. Dream had told Tubbo that, if Tubbo allowed it, Tommy would be allowed to come back permanently. For Tommy’s privacy, he decided to not include the bit where he’d only narrowly stopped Tommy from committing suicide, but Dream desperately wanted to tell Tubbo. He knew Tommy needed help, and he believed the only way to help was to allow the teen back into L’Manberg.

He’d been shocked when Tubbo said no. 

Dream had truly expected Tubbo to allow his best friend to come home. But no, Tubbo shot down his offer, demanding Tommy stayed exiled. He claimed Tommy was still too much of a threat to their country, and if they allowed him back before he learned then they’d have a repeat situation in a few months.

He claimed he was glad Tommy wasn’t going to be allowed back in, and said it was just a test to see how Tubbo would do as president, but internally, he wanted to send his fist flying into Tubbo’s face. But he had to keep suspicions low, otherwise they’d claim he was manipulating the teen, like they did every time Dream allowed himself to get close to anyone. Truthfully, Dream was terrified for Tommy, he wasn’t going to be okay alone, he could tell, and he had never been good at consoling people, but there was no one else he could think of to help the boy. 

On the way back to Logstedshire, Dream debated on whether or not he should tell Tommy that he’d tried, he really had, to get him back into L’Manberg or not. He decided not to, assuming that the news of Tubbo not taking up Dream’s offer of returning Tommy would be the thing to send him over the edge, literally.

Tommy had sulked the whole time Dream was there. “Go away, you manipulative green bastard!” He’d yell for days and days on end.

Dream wished he could deny it, but it was impossible. In the past he knew he was horrible, he’d hurt so many people, but he was genuinely trying to be better. He really did want Tommy to be okay. He was just a kid, a 16 year old who started off by following his big brother into starting a nation and ended alone in exile, on the brink of death. Dream had only recently come to realise that the ‘big man’ he’d been fighting was nothing more than a scared teen led by approval from his big brothers. 

Tommy seemed to become more and more self destructive by the day, despite Dream’s efforts. The food that would ‘mysteriously’ restock itself in the chests was left to rot, and the warm, thick jacket that ‘just happened’ to wash up on the shore completely dry had been ignored. The armor that ‘somehow’ managed to enchant and repair itself was left to collect dust, and the blankets that ‘just appeared’ on Tommy’s sleeping bag had been shoved to the side.

Dream didn’t know what else he could do. Tommy refused to help himself, he denied Dream’s help and he wouldn’t allow anyone near him.

They’d both grown accustomed to Dream’s frequent visitations, but that didn’t mean Tommy was okay with it. Every time he’d scream and yell at Dream to leave until he exhausted himself. 

“Tommy?” He spoke quietly, taking note of how the louder noises had sent Tommy flinching recently. Dream leaned against the entrance to Logstedshire, looking at the shivering teen who sat on the steps, head in his hands.

“Oh, what the fuck do you want now?” He spat, head jerking up to face the masked man in the doorway. His face was twisted into rage, though it was significantly less intimidating when he looked about ready to fall asleep.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to come exploring with me; I found a huge cave right through the forest north of here,” Dream offered, unharmed by the teen’s anger, knowing that Tommy was just taking it out on whoever he could...and the only person who was there for him to yell at was Dream himself.

“Fuck off with your north south bullshit, left or right?” Tommy complained, but despite that, he was adjusting the pickaxe that he had strapped to his leg, an excited glint in his cold eyes.

“Through there,” Dream pointed to the gathering of trees outside, not even attempting to start the whole compass argument once again.

“You could’ve said that in the first place, bitch,” He grumbled, unhooking the sword from the wall and sliding it into the sheath on his back. He tied the laces of his battered shoes, getting to his feet and looking at Dream expectedly, ready to go.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Dream chuckled, and a burst of relief set off in his chest when he caught the reluctant smirk on Tommy’s face.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> again this is not a ship  
> if u take this as romantic then ur a wrongen and i hate u :D  
> ps. yes lava tears will be updated soon im also working on a few other stories rn but two updates should be out tommorow :))
> 
> also tw////  
> -tommy mentions his failed suicide attempt  
> -self-hatred  
> -crying/mini meltdown

Dream’s worry had skyrocketed.

He’d noticed how exhausted Tommy looked, but he bit his tongue, not wanting to offend the already snappy boy. He’d noticed how shaky Tommy was, how his tools kept ‘slipping’ from his hands, so he offered to carry them, but he got shut down. He’d noticed how cold Tommy was, but it was scorching hot outside, and Dream didn’t know what was happening. 

The day his concern had gone from a small nagging voice to a screaming voice through a megaphone was when Tommy had collapsed mid-conversation. 

They’d been arguing, as per usual, and Tommy kept demanding Dream left him alone. For once, Dream obliged, and told him that he’d be back the next morning. However, just as he was leaving, he heard a heavy thump, and turned to see Tommy face-down on the ground.

Once Tommy awoke, he was laid carefully on his bed, blankets draped over him, a glass of water and a sandwich sat on a box beside him. A note was stuck to the edge of the plate, reading **_‘EAT_ **!!’, underlined aggressively. There were two jackets hung at the end of his bed, and he recognised one to be Wilburs old trench coat, and the other to be the warm brown coat that washed up on the shore a week prior. 

His mind was fuzzy, scrambling to figure out who helped him. That’s when a certain voice came floating from the doorway.

“Tommy? You up yet?” Dream’s face came poking around the door, the white mask taunting him. “Ah, you are, good.”

He sat up, rubbing his head. The gifts surrounding him made it clear whoever did it cared for him, but it was Dream. They hated each other, and that stupid mask sent rage coursing through Tommy’s veins, despite that, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for his help. “Fuck off,” he grumbled, picking up his glass with fumbling hands. 

“You just collapsed, you can’t hold a glass with one hand,” he nodded to Tommy’s two shaky hands grasping the cup, “and you’ve been in exile for a month now, and you think I’m just gonna up and leave?” Dream quirked an eyebrow, hidden by his mask. 

Tommy groaned, setting the glass down and flipping him off, “Why are _you_ the only one here?” he spat, arms crossed, “The only one here is a bitch who I don’t even fucking like and I just fuckin’ collapsed jeez, my day’s going great,” he complained, avoiding Dream’s eyes.

Dream sighed. He knew Tommy wasn’t going to believe that he cared, he knew it was impossible to change his mind, but damn, he was going to try. His hands reached up to the back of his head, pulling off his mask, clutching it in his hand. “Tommy?” He asked carefully, getting the teen to look at him, choosing to ignore the surprise on the teens face when he noticed Dream had removed the mask. “I know you don’t want me here, I get it. But I’m…” Dream shook his head, “If you really want me to leave, I will. But I’m not letting you stay here alone. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone here, Tommy.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes, scoffing, “And what the fuck is that meant to mean?”

“It means last time I turned my back you tried to jump into a sea of lava and I was barely quick enough to stop you. You almost drowned in fucking magma,” Dream reminded him, the memory of grasping the trembling teens’ wrist as he lept from the edge esurfacing. 

“Is that why you won’t leave? Out of fuckin’ pity?” Tommy spat, anger flying up inside him as he looked towards the tall man in the doorway. It was bad enough recieving the shitty gifts the others left for him out of pity, but the only person who stayed with him only being there because of pity was worse, way worse.

“Tommy, no-” Dream attempted to calm him, although the teen was already set off, and there was no stopping him.

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter, Dream. I’m not some weak child who needs supervising because ‘ _oh poor Tommy tried to kill himself and failed, the little kid can’t even kill himself right’_ , “ Tommy mocked, flailing his arms around as he spoke. Burning tears welled up in his eyes, the rage inside of him overflowing. “I know! Okay?! I don’t need you to fucking rub it in!” He seemed to be yelling at himself rather than Dream by the end of his fit.

“I know, Tommy, I know, but-”

"I don't want you here!" Tommy yelled, hot tears streaming down his face.

"And I don't want you dead!" Dream shouted back, fists clenched, finally admitting the reason he'd been carefully watching over the teen. 

There was a moment of tense silence, Tommy struggling to take in the fact that Dream actually seemed to care.

“Just fuck off already, you fuckin’ green bastard!” Tommy’s voice was hoarse, and the tears had spilled over his cheeks, leaving tracks behind. His expression was scrunched up, brows furrowed and eyes squeezed shut in a feeble attempt to stop the tears.

There was a moment of silence, Dream watching the teen as he broke down, pulling his knees to his chest. Tommy hugged himself tightly, sobbing into his arms. 

Dream let out a quiet sigh, moving towards the end of Tommy’s bed, sitting down silently. He waited a moment to see if Tommy would tell him to get off before speaking, “Is there anyone you’d like me to go and get? Someone you’d rather stay with you until you’re feeling better?” 

Tommy sniffled, looking up at Dream with red eyes, “No,” he whispered, voice thick with tears. 

“Are you sure?” Dream watched Tommy nod, “What about Techno? Niki? Ghostbur? Phil? Fundy? Ranboo?” He listed anyone he could think of, although he quickly ran out of options.

Tommy shook his head, “Techno hates me and I hate him. He visited once to laugh at me and then left. Niki’s busy helping Fundy build a new city. Ghostbur’s been missing and no one knows where he’s gone, and even if he was here, all he’d do is give me some of that stupid fuckin blue. Phil’s always favoured Techno, he won’t leave Techno’s side, and I'm the least favourite anyway. Ranboo’s only known me for a few weeks. None of em would come anyway,” he laughed bitterly, angrily swiping his hands across his cheeks, failing to wipe away the red blotches.

“I could at least try and ask them?” Dream offered, determined not to give up on the teen.

Tommy looked back down at his knees, hugging himself once again. “There’s no point. None of them would come. Plus, if you won’t leave me alone here, then how would you go and get them?”

There was a moment of silence as Dream thought over what Tommy said, “I could message them over the communicators? If you can think of anyone, or just want me to see if they’re available to visit, I’ll send them a message, how about that?” Dream gave him an encouraging look, a small smile resting on his face.

Tommy was silent for a moment, looking back up and meeting Dream’s eyes, “Thanks,” he muttered quietly. “But this doesn’t mean we’re friends now,” he warned jokingly, desperate to change the gloomy atmosphere. He'd just collapsed, the last thing he wanted was a depressing conversation.

Dream laughed, a proud grin resting on his face when he noticed the playful expression on the teen, “I’d never expect that from the great Thomathy Innit,” he snickered. Tommy attempted to shove him off of the bed, but it wasn’t working out, so Dream played along and flung himself onto the floor. “I’m wounded!” He cried dramatically, his hand to his forehead. 

Pride flickered inside of him when he heard the laughter of the teen beside him.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AYYY BEACH PARTY TIMEEEEE

“Don’t go too far!” Dream called after the teen, voice echoing loudly in the vast forest. Somewhere within the depths of the sea of trees, the teen scoffed and his voice responded in an amused tone, “I’m not a moron! You’ve told me every round for the last half an hour! I know that!” 

“Just checking!” Dream shot back, a smile painted on his face as he leaned back against one of the trees. His hand rested over his eyes, the leather of his glove warm against the chilly air swarming him. He counted slowly in his mind, announcing it the moment he’d reached ten, “Coming!”

There was a shriek somewhere within the trees, closely followed by Tommy’s voice yelling “I’m fine!”

Dream chucked to himself as he started swerving between the trees, checking every possible area for the sighting of the teen. He checked in bushes and caved in tree trunks, yet he found nothing. Or so he thought.

Just as he passed a small clearing, he heard snickering behind him. He whirled around, scanning the area and finding nothing. The laughter got louder, and Dream finally looked up, seeing Tommy sat on a high up branch, knuckles white as he clasped the branch beneath him.

“Found you,” Dream grinned, staring up at the teen as he sat between the branches at the top of the tree, shoulders shaking as he laughed. 

Tommy sighed dramatically, “This isn’t fair! You got manhunt practice!” Despite his complaints, there was a beaming smile on his face as he maneuvered his way down from the top of the tree down to the forest floor, touching down right by Dream’s side. 

“It’s just called not laughing every time you see the seeker,” Dream rebutted, snickering when he heard Tommy’s scoff. “C’mon, people should be showing up by now, plus, you gotta set up the chairs!”

The two began walking back to Logstedshire, a positive buzzing in the air, “To be fair, it was hilarious seeing the confusion on your face when you couldn’t figure out where my laughing came from,” Tommy grinned, nudging Dream’s shoulder.

“Picture this, you’re alone in a dark forest, and all of a sudden this gremlin laughter starts coming from within the trees, do you freak out for a second?” Dream’s hands practically flew through the air as he spoke, dramatically enunciating each word with hand gestures.

Tommy paused, “You’re a fuckin nerd, big man,” he grinned.

“Who’s the one who hid in a tree and gave his position away by laughing? For the third time?” Dream shot back with a smile, hearing and ignoring Tommy’s amused grumbles of protest as they reached the section of the path that merged with the path to the beach. 

The moment they got to the sandy area, the first thing they noticed was a lack of people. Worry twisted Dream’s gut, but he brushed it off. He could see a disheartened expression on Tommy’s face, so he turned to face him and ruffled his hair was a forced smile.

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” He consoled, although he was trying to convince himself too. He’d spent the majority of the last few days roaming L’Manberg and handing out invites, so he knew everyone had gotten one, yet the empty beach had his nerves rise considerably. He’d seen how excited the idea of a reuniting party had made the teen, and he could get a vague idea of how much it would destroy him if no one came.

“Yeah, they’ll be here soon,” Tommy repeated to himself in an attempt to silence the nagging voice telling him that no one was coming. He zoned out for a moment, staring off at the hill opposite the beach table. Worry seemed to freeze him to the spot he stood on, able to do nothing more than get lose in his mind.

“Hey, Tommy? Can you come help me with something?” Dream called out, snapping the boy from his thoughts. He was knelt by the sea, busying himself with something in front of him, mask discarded on the sand beside him.

Tommy walked to his side silently, kneeling beside him. “What do you need help with?”

Dream tried to hold back a laugh as he turned to face Tommy with a serious expression, opening his mouth as if to talk, sank his hand into the water and splashed it up towards the teen.

Water dripped from his blond hair, running down his face and soaking his shirt. Instead of being upset, Tommy grinned, “You green bastard, was that a challenge?” he splashed Dream back, tinting the lime hoodie a deep green. 

The two fought with the salty water for a moment before Tommy had an idea and grinned, shoving Dream towards the sea.

Dream caught Tommy’s forearm as if to stop himself falling, “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me,” he grinned, and instead of pulling himself back onto the beach, he threw himself backwards, still holding Tommy’s arm, plunging them both into the warm sea.

Tommy’s loud cackles echoed through the air as he yelled, “You little green bitch!” He pushed his soaking hair out of his face, revealing his beaming grin, kicking his legs to keep himself afloat, pushing his hands through the water to send waves towards Dream. 

Somehow, the green-clad man managed to dodge them, flicking water back towards the teen, “Ha! I’m winning!” He teased, flicking his hair out of his face as he sent a swooping wave of water crashing towards the teen, watching with amusement as it splashed over Tommy.

“Not fair! How are you better at this than me!” Tommy shrieked with a grin before submerging himself underwater to avoid the splash, resurfacing after mere seconds with a shit eating grin, “Oh, it’s on,” he tackled Dream, their laughter filling the warm air.

They wrestled like little kids, play fighting without a care in the world, laughing and shrieking, just enjoying themselves.

Dream had an idea and swam over to shore, getting the back of his hoodie yanked back into the sea, momentarily sinking under the water. He broke the surface with a grin, spinning around to face the teen, “Huh, you aren’t half bad!”

“Gee, thanks,” Tommy gave him a shit eating grin, pulling his hoodie again to send Dream floating through the water behind him, giving him a change to swim out before the older man.

Dream swam after him, amused determination painted onto his face as he reached to grab the back of Tommy’s shirt, missing and instead just grabbing the water.

Tommy clambered back onto the sand, turning to face Dream with a proud expression, hands on his hips, celebrating, “Ha! I got out first! I won, bitch!”

Dream laughed, climbing onto the shore beside the teen, shaking his soaked hair, sending droplets all over Tommy.

“Hey! Don’t be a sore loser!” Tommy stuck his tongue out, receiving a joking middle finger in return. 

“You won by like two seconds, don’t let your ego inflate,” Dream chuckled, elbowing the teen lightly.

Tommy’s face morphed into a cocky grin, “So you admit that I won?  _ The _ great warrior Dream admits that a 16 year old beat him! I’m a fuckin’ legend!” He bragged, throwing his hands up into the air.

“I see your ego’s already doubled in size,” Dream commented with a smirk, beginning to set up the beach chairs around the long table the two of them had built the day prior. 

Tommy sprang into action, beginning to arrange chairs under the table, “Of course it has, have  _ you  _ met me?” 

“Sadly,” Dream laughed while speaking, making it as obvious as he could that he was joking. He was glad to see that Tommy had caught onto the joke and hadn’t taken it to heart.

“I swear to fuck, I will throw you back into that sea,” Tommy grinned, “And I’ll win again.”

Dream was thankful that their playfighting served as a momentary distraction from the fact that absolutely no one had shown up. 

But he soon discovered that distractions don’t last forever.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ayyy i watched the goldfinch while writing this so we gettin some extra angst boisssss
> 
> ALSO!!!! WARNINGS!!!  
> -tommy hits himself (pulls his hair tightly, hits the floor, punches walls, etc)  
> -angst major angst seriously its so angsty im sorry  
> -mentioned anger lashing out  
> -mentioned blood (accidental injuries dw)  
> i may have missed some, please tell me if i did!!

Dream couldn’t fucking believe it. 

He’d told  _ everyone _ , he’d told them all to their faces! And still, no one showed up? He’d invited them all, encouraging them to come visit, promising that they were allowed, that there wouldn’t be any weapons or fighting, just fun. 

But still, no one showed up.

His heart broke for the teen, who he’d watched pour his heart and soul into the party organising, thrilled to spend time with everyone. 

The moment he’d walked away, he knew something was wrong. Tommy had told him he was going to bed, that he was tired from splashing around in the water all day, that he just wanted to sleep. But Dream didn’t believe him one bit, seeing the slow deflation of the ecstatic expression on the tee n when he realised that no one was there, no one was coming. Still, he turned and left, worry twisting his gut, tugging on his heart strings.

As soon as the sun rose, he went to check on Tommy, having a feeling of dread in his heart. The teen had claimed he was unbothered by the lack of guests and excused himself to go to sleep, but Dream could tell something was off. The moment Tommy headed towards Ghostbur’s mini camp instead of his tent, Dream had a sinking feeling in his gut.

He knocked against the doorway to the camper-van-like structure, receiving no response. A voice in his mind suggested that the teen could just be sleeping, but he ruled out the reasonable voice, remembering the defeated expression that sat on the teens face before he retreated to bed. 

“Tommy? You in there, man?” Dream called through the thin oak door, knuckles still resting against the rough material. There was no response, and his worry skyrocketed. “Hey, Tommy, you up?” He raised his voice, making sure the sound carried through into the small room. 

Once again, there was no response. 

Dream clenched his fists in nervousness, forcing himself to take a deep breath, knocking again, “Tommy, I’m coming in!” He warned, waiting a few seconds for any objections before grasping the handle and gently opening the door.

The room was a mess, all the neatly hung pictures laying shredded around the floor, in the midst of many other thrown possessions, turning the comfortable, simple-style room into a mess of hurt and destruction. Old pictures that Ghostbur had giften the teen laid shattered on the shelves, drops of blood laid dried against the glass shards. Wilted flowers scattered across the floor, petals mixing in with the mess. Torn paper scraps laid strewn against the dirty wood floor, bleeding ink from their pages. Ghostbur’s guitar was smashed, strings poking out into the air, blood dotting the ends of them, clearly already having caused an accident from its place against the wall. Dark ink scribbles covered the open books the black streaks wrecking the neatly printed words.

In the midst of the mess was the hunched over teen, knees drawn to his chest, staring down at the floor, blank, not even noticing Dream entering the room. His arms were wrapped around his legs, bloody hands peeking out their place tangled in his hair. Tears streaked his flushed red cheeks, the white lines contrasting the crimson.

“Tommy- shit, man,” Dream stumbled over his words, rushing to the teen’s side. He placed a careful hand on Tommy’s shoulder, scanning the boy for any more injuries than his obvious bloodied knuckles. “Tommy?” He echoed, the boy still zoned out enough to not register the mans presence. “Tommy!” He repeated, louder, gently shaking his shoulder.

That seemed to snap him out of it, glancing up at the man’s concerned expression briefly before returning to stare at the wreckage. “Hi.”

Dream inhaled shakily, scanning the room once again, taking in the teen’s disordered state, and forming a hopeful plan. “Can you stand?” He asked, receiving no response, “Tommy, c’mon, man, you gotta answer,” Dream got an almost invisible nod in return, relief flooding him from the miniature gesture. “Okay, okay, good, right, I’m going to help you stand now, is that okay?”

Once again, there was no response, and his shoulders slumped. “Tommy, c’mon man, answer me, please,” he studied the teen’s disorientated expression, no sign of comprehending anywhere behind his blank, dull, blue eyes. He shook the boys shoulder again, but this time there was no sudden, snapped-out-of-it moment. Just silence.

“I’ll wait,” he spoke quietly, sincerely, shuffling some of the items out of the way to sit beside the teen, leaning against the wall too. As he did so, he saw that Tommy’s grip in his hair had tinted his knuckles white, the action clearly paining the boy to do. 

With a shaky hand, Dream reached forwards, gently grasping the teens wrist, “That’s gotta hurt, c’mon, let go,” he spoke gingerly, keeping his voice to nothing more than a whisper. “Tommy, please.” The moment he saw Tommy’s grip loosen, he took his chance, hoping the risk would work out. Carefully, he used his hold on Tommy’s grip to his advantage, sliding his hand out of his hair, hoping it didn’t hurt the boy from his still tight hold on his hair. Dream let go the moment Tommy had allowed his hand to fall to the side, along with the other one.

He scanned the room, eyes landing on a strewn bear plushie, grabbing it and handing it to the boy, “Here, if you want to hold something,” he offered, the ripped toy getting torn from his hands instantly, beginning to get crushed in the teens hands.

Tommy didn’t acknowledge anything else, simply sitting by Dream’s side, plushie in hand, digging his hands into it, dried blood that caked his hands rubbing off onto the dirty fur of the bear. The two simply leaned against the wall, allowing the tranquility in the air to take place of the talking.

“Can I help you stand now?” Dream asked, breaking the silence after what was most likely five minutes. He waited for a response composedly, ignoring the nerves that spiked when Tommy seemed to continue to space out.

After a moment of a tense atmosphere, Tommy spoke up, voice crackly, shaking on every word, “Yeah, yeah, okay,” he muttered, voice almost inaudible despite the complete lack of sounds.

Dream let out a relieved sigh, getting to his feet and offering a hand, helping Tommy stumble to his feet. He immediately rushed to his side the moment Tommy started swaying on his feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “C’mon, leave the mess for now,” he led the trembling boy out of the room, allowing the teen to lean against his side as they ventured to the tent. 

The moment they got there, Tommy collapsed on top of the sleeping bag, curling into a ball once again, leaning his head against his knees. Dream knelt down in front of him, pulling out the medkit he left in his enderchest. He gently grabbed Tommy’s hand, pulling out a disinfecting wipe, running it over his bloody knuckles, lifting most of the dried crimson liquid, chucking it to the side once he was done.

He wrapped the bandages around his hand, encasing the miniature cuts in the white fabric, leaving it loose enough to not irritate the wounds. “Tommy?” He speaks slowly, letting his hand fall to the side, beginning to fix the wounds on his other hand. The teen hummed in acknowledgement. “What happened?”   
“Got upset no one came,” he spoke quietly, not wanting to look at the upset expression on his friends face- no, not friend, since when were they friends? 

A voice at the back of Tommy’s mind reminded him that they’d spent hours having fun, playing games in the forests, and that Dream was literally sitting with him, carefully bandaging his hands, sitting in silence despite his talkative nature. In fact, the voice said, he’s more like a brother than a friend- 

No! No, Tommy didn’t have time to deal with that right now. He shook his head, noticing the confused expression on ~~his friends~~ Dreams face, and began to attempt to play it off. “Not anyone's fault. I don’t blame anyone for not coming,” at first, his mind scrambled to find a way to play off the strange action, then he’d started spewing the truth and he couldn’t stop. “Ghostburs not gonna want to come back either, I wrecked his guitar,” Tommy confessed, “It wasn’t an accident either, I just got so...angry that he just left and I... _ fuck _ !” He muttered, tears welling in his eyes, clenching his free hand and slamming it into the ground beside him, the thin sleeping bag doing nothing to soften the blow.

Dream glanced up, letting the hand he previously held fall, grabbing the pillow and placing it beside Tommy’s fist, “Here, if you’re going to punch something, punch this, you can’t get hurt that way,” he offered, returning to his work moments after, pretending to be unbothered by seeing the kids self-destructive behaviour, continuing to bandage the other hand.

Tommy seemed to take up the offer, pushing all of his strength into his arm, punching the pillow repeatedly, the force denting the feathers inside. He kept his apology silent, taking out his anger in the poor defenseless pillow instead of thanking the man like he’d meant to. 

“Tommy- Tommy, I’m sorry,” Dream confessed, busying himself in the careful wrapping of bandages instead of the inquisitive look on the teens face. “I shouldn’t have just let you go in there, I knew you were upset, and I-” He broke off, taking a deep breath, looking up to meet the teens eyes with a sincere look, “I’m sorry.”


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> was listening to achillies come down in 8d while writing this, so angsty :))  
> ALSO we discover what happened to the invites.....or do we?? 👀
> 
> tw //   
> ranboo has a pretty bad panic attack

Ranboo felt sick, and he didn’t know why. 

Obviously it could just be a common illness, but he was a mix of enderman, ghast and human, so that was almost impossible. Still, everything he did was followed by suffocating guilt, guilt for something he didn’t know. He couldn’t even ask anyone else, because _ ‘oh god what if i fucked up and did something bad behind everyones backs and i help them figure it out and they kill me exectute me exile me hurt me- fuck!’ _

He guessed it had something to do with his missing memory book, and the new writing that he didn’t recognise. It wasn’t his handwriting, but his writing style changed often, depending on how shaky his hands were that day and how he felt, so he dismissed it as just another new type of handwriting he must’ve come up with. With desperate eyes, he re-read the book for the twentieth time, attempting to decipher any clues he may have left behind, any capitals in places they weren’t meant to be, any randomly cut off words, anything.

There was nothing.

With a yell, he threw the book to the wall, sitting in the middle of the room, hands digging into his hair, curled into a ball. Then there was a knock at the door. He frantically tried to keep his breathing under control, scrambling to hide the book in his ender chest before climbing to his feet. He brushed through his hair hastily, scrubbing any tear tracks from his cheeks and climbing the ladder.

It was just Tubbo. 

Friend Tubbo, President Tubbo, ~~Traitor Tubbo Bad Tubbo No Tubbo Tubbo Go Leave Bye Tubbo~~

“Ranboo! Hi! Just wondering, how did the mission go yesterday?” Tubbo asked eagerly, hands clasped in front of him, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Mission? I don’t- I- What mission?” Ranboo asked, and the guilt crept up his spine. His mind was already running wildly, clogging up his brain with indecipherable rambles that sounded like gibberish. He gulped harshly, attempting to think through the chaos, soothing himself silently, telling himself that no, the mission surely didn’t have anything to do with the swarms of sin that choked him.

Tubbo’s face slipped into a pitying expression, “You forgot already? I know you didn’t write it down in your memory book because it was secret, but it was only yesterday, I didn’t think you’d forget so soon,” he frowned, placing a gentle hand on Ranboo’s arm sympathetically.

“My- My what? How do you know about the book- What’s-"

“You told me about it, yesterday, right before you went off for your walk?” Tubbo gestured with his hands in a feeble attempt to jog Ranboo’s memory. 

“Walk? I don’t-”

Tubbo frowned again, “You came to me yesterday, told me you had top secret info. Tommy was throwing a party in exile. You said you would place yourself in charge of burning all the invites? Do you really not remember it? It was your idea! You were so excited to appoint yourself a mission, I thought you’d’ve remembered,” Tubbo explained, making sure to keep his voice down from any possible eavesdroppers.

“I- What? Why would I do that? We like Tommy, Tommy’s nice to us, why-” Ranboo muttered to himself, running a stressed hand through his hair, gulping. Was he really a villain? “No, no, we- I wouldn’t do that,” Ranboo insisted.

Tubbo furrowed his brows in confusion, “I have all my meeting logs kept in my enderchest, I can show you?” he offered, receiving a curt nod from Ranboo, stepping aside to allow the president in. He opened the enderchest, pulling out a neat black leather book. Hastily, he flipped through it, opening it around mid-way, to an entry written yesterday. “Here.”

He held out the book, “It says what we did in the meeting, what we discussed, what your plan was, and you signed it,” he gestured to the scribble at the bottom, glowing a deep purple.

That was definitely his signature, and that was definately a fully formulated plan for Ranboo to sneak into houses, find the invites, steal and burn them. And Ranboo had written in the extra notes section that it was his idea, and that Tubbo would be giving him full credit for his first solo, self-appointed mission.

Ranboo had to fight the urge to vomit, stumbling back slightly, tearing his eyes from the page, “No, no, I wouldn’t- I’d never do that to Tommy-” He fell to the floor in the centre of the room, knees drawn to his chest.

“You wouldn’t? He’s exiled for being a traitor, Ranboo, there’s a reason you went ahead with your plan. He’s not meant to be visited,” Tubbo reminded him in a soft voice, kneeling down in front of him. “I just wanted to check in on how the mission went, I-I thought you’d remember,” he frowned, taking in Ranboo’s shaken state. “If you’re sure you didn’t burn them, they might still be around here somewhere? I’ll check, if that’s okay.”

Ranboo nodded, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to but vaguely aware that an offer had been made. He wrapped his arms around himself, holding himself tightly, pressing his face into his knees, vision darkening from the impact. He felt like he was drowning, no air managing to sink into his lungs, just guilt, suffocating, overwhelming guilt. He couldn't breathe, _he co uldn't br eath e h e co uldn 't b r ea the he-_

There was a moment of silence, the only sound being Ranboo’s heavy breathing, then Tubbo’s voice perked up from the corner. “Found them!” 

His head shot up, finding the President stood by his chests, lid open, a neatly tied bundle of letters laid on top, all clearly addressed to different people, signed by Tommy. And a lighter sat on top. 

Ranboo felt sick.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prewrote a shit ton of chapters lmao whoops 
> 
> tw //  
> tommy has flashbacks  
> pstd attack  
> arguing

Dream sat by Tommy’s side in silence, both of them just watching the sunset, watching the yellow hues melt in with the pinks and purples. The teen hadn’t spoken a word since his breakdown, a week prior, opting to stay silent, only communicating through curt nods and shoulder nudges. Dream hated to see him so quiet, it just wasn’t like him, the teen was known for his loud mouth, but here he was, hands thickly bandaged, staring into the sunset in silence.

As a precaution, Dream had arranged a buzzer on the nether portal, something that would make his communicator ring and ring and ring until he pressed the stop button. It would buzz and shake and light up with the person who had stepped throughs name until he disabled it. The moment someone stepped through it, he’d know. He didn’t want to, and he made sure Tommy knew about it, but he knew that Tommy was no where near okay, and if he happened not to be there the next time Tommy stared down into the magma pools, he didn’t know what he would do. 

The two were quiet, the only noise being the soft lapping of the waves and the quiet chirping of the birds in the air. Tommy was wearing a thick red hoodie, one that hung past his hands, something Dream had found ‘conveniently washed up’ on the shore again. His lies were easy to see through, but Tommy was internally grateful that he had someone care about him enough to protect him from the chilly winds that attacked his campsite, so he nodded and slipped the hoodie on with no protest. 

Dream, however, despite the winds, sat in a baggy shirt, goosebumps running up and down his arms. 

It was difficult at times, incredibly difficult, but they both pushed through it.

During mealtimes, Dream had to spent ages convincing Tommy to at least eat a little, even if he couldn’t finish half the plate, if he could just take a few bites. It failed most of the time. It wasn’t just out of the fear of having blood on his hands, but Dream saw Tommy as a ~~little brother~~ friend. And he couldn’t bear to see his friend die before his eyes.

They were shaken out of their comfortable silence by loud talking.

A raspy voice began echoing around the area, “Tommy? Tommy?” It called out, the deep tone instantly recognisable. 

Tommy’s eyes widened, turning to Dream, shaking his head rapidly, “I don’t want to see him, I don’t want to see him, I don’t want to see him,” he muttered, breathing turning more into hyperventilation. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, ignoring the feeling of smoke on his skin, ignoring the sunlight from L’Manberg burning down on him, the ash in the air, hearing his brother scream his insane speech. The feeling of the debris clattering against his skin overtook the cool beach air, and suddenly the soft expression of Dream twisted into the maddened expression of his brother, wither skulls in hand. Then there was nothing more than screams, screams of pain, screams of fear, screams of-

“-ommy, Tommy! Breathe, you’re on the beach in Logstedshire, breathe,” Dream’s voice cut through the harsh screaming echoing in L’Manberg’s ash-ridden skies. He could vaguely feel hands placed on his shoulders, and soft fabric replacing his uncomfortable soldier uniform. 

“Dream- what?” Tommy’s voice was weak, words shaky and hoarse, voice worn down from being unused. 

“C’mon, breathe, you’re fine, you’re okay, you’re on the beach, you’re in Logstedshire, the place you built, it’s just you and me, calm down,” he spoke softly, knowing exactly what was going on. The second the teen’s eyes glossed over and he got disorientated hearing Dream’s voice, it registered. 

Tommy glanced up at him, eyes wide with fear, “FUCK! I don’t- I- NO!I don’t want to see him,” he begged, shaking violently despite his thick hoodie. Terror was etched onto his face as he grasped Dream’s sleeves tightly, hands trembling. His lip quivered, eyes glossy with tears.

“Hey, hey, breathe, Tommy, breathe, it’s okay, I’ll tell him to leave,” Dream offered, “You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to,” he promised, getting tackled into a tight hug moments after, freezing up and awkwardly patting the teen’s back in response.

Tommy pulled back, scrubbing his eyes with one hand and sniffling, tapping the back of Dream’s hand twice with the other, a sign the two had agreed on to replace ‘thank you’. He rubbed his eyes harshly, wiping the tears away but dotting black spots into his vision. 

“Are you okay to go wait in the tent?” Dream asked quietly, “I’ll send you a message over the communicator if you need to pretend to sleep for him to leave,” he thought quickly, remembering how the teen had the communicator resting beside his bed constantly. Tommy nodded, tapping Dream’s hand once again before getting to his feet, heading towards the tent. “Tommy,” Dream caught his wrist, “If you need anything, tell me, and I’ll come help, promise,” he muttered sincerely, a genuine expression resting on his face. 

Tommy nodded again, twisting his hand around to tap Dream’s hand twice before heading back to the tent, fidgeting with his hands as he went. 

Dream frowned to himself, worry for the teen skyrocketing. He knew Tommy had been forced through wars as a child, and hell, he himself had fought against him, and took his first two lives, but he had never witnessed a breakdown firsthand. Sure, he saw the aftermath during the caravan incident, saw the destruction, but he didn’t see the actual happenings.

“Tommy?” 

There Techno was again, his voice getting scarily close to the edge of the forest. Dream leapt to his feet, slipping on his mask and approaching the trees, hand hovering above his dagger. 

“Technoblade? Nice to see you again,” Dream nodded curtly, finding the formally dressed man directly at the outskirts of the trees. 

“Dream? Why are you here?” Technoblade sneered, tusks jutted out and eyebrows furrowed, axe clutched in his hand glinting in the sun. Red fabric fluttered behind him in the wind, long pink strands of hair following it. “I was under the impression Tommy was  _ alone  _ in exile.”

“He might as well be, because no one other than me shows up here,” Dream muttered bitterly, “I decided leaving a literal child alone in exile from a country he gave up two lives for  _ and  _ that he helped build wasn’t a great idea and now I’m staying with him.” 

Technoblade scoffed, and Dream noticed him readjusting his grip on the axe, “And does Tommy want you here?” 

“Since when have you cared about what Tommy wants?” Dream rebutted, stunning Technoblade into silence. 

“He’s my brother, Dream-”

He was cut off by a laugh, “Really?  _ Really _ ? He’s your-” he cut himself off with a laugh, “You still consider yourself his brother after the shit you did to him? After letting Wilbur do what he did?” 

“Dream, you are in no place to talk to me about my family. Wilbur did nothing wrong. Now, get out the way,” He held up the axe, not directly pointing it at Dream but leaving the sentiment in the air. “Now,” he repeated. 

An idea shot into Dream’s mind, and he raised his hands in surrender, “Fine. He’s in his tent. Go and see how  _ eager  _ he is to see you,” his words dripped with mockery. Technoblade eyed him with caution momentarily, and Dream itched the back of his neck, thanking himself that he kept his communicator in his sleeve. He let it fall into his palm, hurriedly typing a few letters and sending it before slipping it back into his sleeve, letting his arm fall to the side. “Well then? Go,” he pretended not to notice the suspicion on the warriors face. 

Technoblade narrowed his eyes further, sneering again and heading towards the tent, gesturing for Dream to follow. As the two approached the tent, Dream thanked every little stumble in Technoblades step, knowing every extra second was precious, giving Tommy more time to fake-sleep. 

The moment they got to the tent, Technoblade grabbed the flap of the tent, flipping it open, expecting to see Tommy cowering from Dream. 

Instead, the teen was curled up on the bed, soft snores coming from his mouth, Dream’s hoodie clutched in his hands, hugged to his chest beneath the thick blankets Tommy had finally begun using. His sleeves slipped down, revealing the picked at bandages on his hands, ones decorated with stickers and smiley face pen drawings Dream had done to get the teen to stop ruining them. There was a faint smile on his face, and he pressed his face into the pillow. 

Dream knew he wasn't a good actor, and he realised that the teen had genuinely fallen asleep.

Technoblade was silent.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating guys,,, ive been working on a LOT of new stuff, but heres 2 chapters in a row :)
> 
> tw\\\  
> tommy hallcuinates tubbo briefly  
> hallucinations  
> panic attacks  
> (specifically the after effects of panic attacks, like numb hands and derealisation)  
> tommy also has a huge panic over him not believing hes real, so if you struggle with derealisation, PLEASE DONT READ!!!! i dont want any of you getting hurt bc u wanted to read this chapter, ill leave a summary at the bottom, pls dont force urself to read!! <3

Dream was relieved to see Tommy finally asleep, especially since the boy looked relaxed instead of troubled like usual. Usually the only time Tommy slept was when he collapsed from exhaustion, and even then he would be restless, tossing and turning, crying out in the middle of the night. The fact that not only he was finally using the blankets, but that he was _smiling_ was a miracle. Technoblade’s face had darkened in anger, grumbling under his breath about how ‘he knew that wasn’t really his brother’ and leaving, shoving past Dream with unnecessary force as he did so.

He didn’t care though, smiling under his mask, happy to see the teen finally letting himself sleep. 

Happiness hugged at his heart, realising how safe Tommy had to feel to allow himself to sleep, especially with Technoblade there. So that meant he trusted Dream. 

A faint smile crossed his face, honored that the teen had finally started trusting him. He turned, glancing at the still-destroyed caravan. 

The next few hours were spent clearing it out, saving what he could and gathering the ruins in a pile. He had to break the remainders of the windows, using the edge of his sword to scratch off the jagged edges, pushing the shards into the bag he’d left outside the caravan.

It took a long long time, and Dream was exhausted, but when he stood back and took in the clean caravan, he couldn’t help but smile. He was careful to remove anything that could’ve hurt Tommy, such as the broken frames or the shattered vases. 

Tommy had obviously noticed the work, as the moment he stepped inside to retrieve something, he’d walked right back out and hugged Dream silently. 

Dream didn’t know what to do. 

Tommy was usually on edge, sure, paranoid, even, but he’d never been like _this_.

The two had been clearing up the beach party remains- Dream had insisted he’d do it alone, that the boy needed to get more rest, but Tommy had ignored him, protesting that he needed to distract his mind with _something_ and there was nothing to do other than clean. The man gave in, letting the boy help with dismantling the chairs and table, trying not to notice the distant expression on the teens face. 

Every scrap of wood they could save, Dream shoved it into the large box, but most of it had rotted away due to the harsh rainfall, so there was little to no spares, but they saved what they could.

Throughout the task, Tommy had been tearing apart the shitty chairs with more force than necessary, clearly exhausting himself as he ripped away one of the legs of the chairs once again. He pretended not to see the worried glances he got. Splinters imprinted themselves into his palms but he couldn’t care less.

As both of them worked at the same time, they finished rather quickly, and all that was left was the cleared up beach and the two boxes, one of reusable wood, one of the ruined bits. Dream took a quick trip to the Nether to throw the trash into the lava, returning back to Tommy’s side within minutes. 

But the boy hadn’t moved, still sat in the grass by the sand. In the miniscule time he’d been gone, it had started raining violently, but he didn’t seem to care, still sat, letting himself get drenched. 

“Tommy? C’mon, you can’t sit in the rain, you’ll get ill,” Dream helped him stand, leading him towards the tent, but the boy froze up the moment he stood. “Tommy?” 

The teen was staring past him, at something next to the portal, eyes wide. “I- Tubbo?” 

Dream whipped around at that, expecting to see the teen stood, staring at them. Instead, he found nothing. “What?”

Tommy grabbed his wrist, pointing his hand in the direction of the boy, who silently watched them with an angry expression. “He’s right there, Dream, he’s- he-” his voice broke, and he ran forward, towards his best friend. He opened his arms, prepared to wrap them around him and beg to come home, apologising. But the moment he was stood in front of him, he was gone. 

He stumbled backwards, falling in the mud, staring at the empty space in shock.

“Tommy? There’s no one there, what- oh,” Dream was hit by the realisation mid sentence. He knelt down in front of the boy, forcing the worried expression off of his face, “How much sleep have you been getting?”

The teen gulped, his answer hesitant, “I’ve been sleeping fine, you know this, but Tubbo-! He was just there- he was stood there! He had a compass, you saw him, he was waiting for me! Where- Where-” Tommy cut himself off with a sob, curling in on himself.

Dream gently pried his hands off of his arms, stopping the harsh digging of nails, “Tommy, there was no one there. I think...I think you need to go have a rest,” he spoke softly, making sure his words were selected carefully as to not provoke the trembling boy.

“No- no!” Tommy stumbled to his feet, unbothered by the mud caking his shirt and jeans, mixing with the rainwater that soaked his body. He ran towards the space he’d stared at, looking around with wide eyes, “Tubbo!? Come on man, this isn’t- this isn’t fucking funny! Stop hiding!”  
Dream placed a hand on his shoulder, “Tommy, Tubbo isn’t there,” he whispered.

“No, no, no! He has to be! I just saw him! I saw him and- and-” Tommy cut himself off with a sharp gasp, “If...if that wasn’t...wasn’t real,” he gulped, “How do I know any of this is real? I’m probably still at L’Manberg, right? I’m probably still in bed and slept in too late, come on, Tommy, wake up, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” he muttered, pinching his arm aggressively, recoiling at the sharp pain. “What...what the fuck?” 

Tommy shook his hands, “Why can’t I feel my hands?! What the fuck is happening?” He whipped around, staring at Dream with wide eyes that were brimming with tears, “You’re not real either,” he breathed, “You’re not- you’re just- fuck, I’ve been fucking imagining this whole fucking thing, haven’t I? I’m fucking alone in exile, no one else is here, why would they be?” He laughed bitterly and loudly, startling Dream, who’d only heard him speak in hushed whispers for the past week.

Dream frowned, mind racing for anything to calm the frantic, hyperventilating boy. Immediately, he thought to the medicine kit he’d stashed in the drawers of the caravan, and the icepack sat within them. “Tommy, I’m going to need you to take a deep breath, okay?” He held his hands up in surrender, “I’m real, you’re real, this is all real, you’re okay. You’re not asleep, you’re not imagining it, you’re here and you’re real. So please, come inside before you get hypothermia.” 

The boy seemed to give in, shoulders slouching.

“At least if I get hypothermia I know this is real,” Tommy muttered bitterly as he trudged after the man, heading towards the caravan once again. 

The moment they got inside, Dream shut the door, stopping the rain from following them in. Sure, the windows were technically without glass, but he’d used thick wooden planks to block them out until he could fix them. 

Dream dug through the medicine chest, digging out the icepack and placing it in the teens hands, “Here, this should help with regaining the feeling in your hands.”

Tommy accepted it, sitting cross-legged on top of one of the chests, squishing the ice inside of the packet, eventually getting a cold feeling spreading throughout his hands, but at least it wasn’t the numbness he’d been cursed with moments before. “I still don’t think you’re real,” he muttered.

“If I wasn’t real, how could I have handed that to you? You didn’t even know this was here,” he gestured to the box, “So if I wasn’t real, how would you have found it and been handed it from across the room?” Dream asked, eyebrow quirked.

Tommy seemed to mull over that thought, “Mhm, maybe you’re right. So what if you are real? What the fuck happened earlier? Because I thought that Tubbo thing I saw was real and then it just fuckin’ poofed,” he leaned his head back against the wall.

“You have been eating and drinking water, right?”

The teen looked away, face flushing before muttering, “Not really,” he admitted.

Dream sighed softly, moving to sit beside the teen inside the caravan once again, this time, the situation somehow so different yet so similar, “That’ll do it, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dream sees tommy sleeping, smiles, techno leaves. dream goes to clear the caravan, tommy hugs him.  
> they clear up from the beach party, and tommy freaks out bc he hallucinates tubbo. dream brings him back to the caravan and convinces him hes real and gives him an icepack


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry abt the lack of updates!! hopefully this ranboo chapter is enough for now!! :D
> 
> tw//  
> -mention of ranboos memory loss  
> -suicide watch is used as a metaphor briefly  
> -hallucinations mentioned

The two were sat at a small cliff, waves crashing against the stone walls. Water drops splattered across the rocks, barely missing the duo. Tommy was silent, staring into the soft blue sky, picking at the bandages around his hands, only fidgeting with the extra layers Dream had added knowing Tommy would scratch at them. Dream was sat by his side, hoodie discarded to the side, mask sat on top. The wind was cold, freezing, actually, but Dream sat with a black shirt on, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Tommy still had his red hoodie on, rarely taking it off. 

It was completely silent, the crashing waves barely audible above the soft wind. 

Suddenly, Dream’s communicator started buzzing, and both of their heads jolted towards it, finding a bright ‘RANBOO’ printed onto the screen. Tommy’s breath hitched, and he jerked his head back towards the sunset, pretending not to notice the loud roaring of the portal as someone stumbled through.

“Do you want to talk to Ranboo?” Dream asked quietly, pressing the button on the side, stopping the ringing moments after it had started. Tommy gave him a hesitant head-shake in response. “Are you sure?” There was nothing more than a subtle nod, and Dream patted his shoulder as he stood up. “I’ll go and talk to him, but I’ll only be over there, so I’ll still be able to see you, you won’t be alone,” he reassured, hand still resting on the soft fabric of the teens hoodie.

Tommy tapped the hand resting on his shoulder twice as a ‘thank you’ motion. After the whole caravan incident, he didn’t trust himself to be alone, and Dream offered to stay with him whenever Tommy needed it. Just the caravan incident alone was bad enough, but his hallucinations had stuck around, and Dream stuck by his side, constantly reassuring the teen about what was real and what wasn’t. They both knew it was basically suicide watch, but they both chose to not bring that up. Of course, Dream wasn’t there all day, leaving at night and giving the teen space whenever he needed it, but the second Tommy pulled on the second bracelet on his wrist, signalling he didn’t want to be alone, Dream would sit down and stay without a care.

“No problem,” Dream smiled softly, turning away from Tommy and walking towards Ranboo, who waited patiently by the portal. His face fell the moment he turned his back, the gentle expression falling into a pissed-off sneer. “Why are you here?”

“I should be asking you that. Since when were you and Tommy friends?” Ranboo crossed his arms, ignoring the lack of mask and opting to narrow his eyes in nervous worry. From what he’d been told, before he arrived at L’Manberg, the two had been rivals, fighting every moment they could, but the scene he’d stumbled upon seemed nothing like that, the two sat in comfortable silence.

“Since all of you bastards decided to exile him, and then decide to abandon him during the party he fucking organised,” Dream spat, keeping his voice quiet enough that Tommy wouldn’t hear the hushed arguing. The venom in his face was terrifying. 

Ranboo fumbled over his words, clenching his fists and gulping, “That’s...exactly what I came over here to talk to Tommy about, so if you wouldn’t mind, I’m going to speak to him,” he strode past Dream, making no more than two steps before his sleeve got grabbed and he was yanked back.

“No. Tommy said he doesn’t want to talk to you.” 

“I’ll hear that from him, thank you,” Ranboo jerked his arm out of his grip, striding towards Tommy, who remained oblivious. “Tommy?”

The teen’s head jerked backwards, eyes falling onto Ranboo, face twisted in anger. He flapped his hands in a ‘go away’ gesture and stuck his middle finger up for emphasis before turning back, crossing his arms and ignoring the tall boy’s existence. “Fuck off,” he muttered, voice weak from unuse. It was barely audible, and Dream doubted that Ranboo had heard it over the wind, but the boys shoulders slumped and he seemed to get the message.

“Told you,” Dream spoke bitterly, gesturing for Ranboo to follow him to the outskirts of the gathering of trees beside the beach. “We can speak over here. He wants space right now. What did you want to tell him?”

Ranboo hesitated, unsure whether or not to trust Dream. Then he took in Dream’s soft expression while talking to Tommy, the careful hand on his shoulder, the protectiveness, and the seeming trust in Ranboo to see him without the mask. He decided ‘fuck it’. “I think something’s wrong with Tubbo.”

Dream’s eyebrows shot up, worry on his face. Sure, he wasn’t close to the president, not in the slightest, but he was just a kid, and he deserved help. “What?”

“I- Fuck, why am I even telling you this?” Ranboo ran a stressed hand through his hair, tilting the crown slightly, “I...He showed up at my door yesterday, talking about a mission I don’t remember in the slightest. That’s not the bad bit, though, I’ve always struggled to remember things, but apparently I-I- I... I burned the invites.”

“You what?” Dream’s face was seething with anger, and his hands twitched into fists, fire burning behind his cerulean eyes.

“I don’t think I did though! Tubbo, he told me I found out about the party, and burned the invites. Obviously I didn’t believe him, but he found the invites in one of my chests with a lighter but- but- but my memory book doesn’t even say anything about it!” He flicked to the most recent page, showing Dream the entry, simply reading ‘ _ Stayed home today, it’s too cold outside, minus temperatures, I think. Nothing important to remember, didn’t speak to anyone. No, wait, Eret came and said hi, asked if I wanted to play chess, I said no, and she left right after. Enderchest is ill, but that’s it. Remember their medicine _ .’ In a messy scrawl. “That’s not even my handwriting!”

Dream furrowed his brows in confusion, “What are you trying to say, Ranboo?” 

“I’m saying I think Tubbo did something bad, really- really bad, and I think he’s trying to pin the blame on me.”


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw//  
> mention of tommys past attempt  
> suicide mention

The first thing Dream did was panic.

Constantly watching Tommy to make sure he didn’t kill himself was stressful enough, but they were friends, and Dream was more than happy to help his friends.

But he’d never really spoken to Ranboo, and he was clueless on what to do.

He let out a shaky breath, “Okay, shit, okay, just...wait here, one second,” he raised a hand, receiving a soft nod from Ranboo before making his way back over to Tommy, who was still curled up on the beach.

“Wh’t did he w’nt,” Tommy mumbled into his arms, voice muffled by the fabric. He didn’t bother moving, staying with his knees to his chest, arms atop them and face buried his sleeve.

There was a moment of silence before Dream spoke up, “It’s...it might take longer to talk to him than expected-”

“Is he okay?” His voice was panicked, and his head snapped up to look him in the eyes, the red blotches on his cheeks being uncovered.

Dream hesitated, thinking it over. Everyone in Tommy’s life had lied to him constantly, even about unimportant things they had no need to lie about. He wasn’t going to be like them. “Not exactly, but don’t panic,” he added, seeing the boys eyes widen, “He’s not hurt, he’s not injured, it’s argument related-”

“I wanna help,” his voice wobbled, but there was a determined expression on his face. 

He gulped, knowing how Tommy saw Tubbo as if he was constantly on a pedestal, better than everyone else, worth protecting more, and knowing that if he was to tell him the truth in his state, there would definitely be another lava incident again.

“Let me check with Ranboo, okay? If he says no, don’t be hurt, he’s not doing it to be malicious, it’s an upsetting argument, and it may upset you to get involved-”

“I’m n’t a baby, Dream,” Tommy insisted, sitting up a little straighter and wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his oversized hoodie. Despite how his face was tinted with red blotches sliced by the white tear tracks, he was determined, and a protective look rested on his face.

Dream smiled softly, making sure his intent was understood, he was making sure Tommy’s state didn’t get worse. They’d just started making progress, finally speaking and beginning to not fear asking Dream whether he was hallucinating something or not, he didn’t want to go back on that. “Tommy, listen, I’ll speak to Ranboo about it. If he says no, but you really want to help, I can ask him to talk to you about it later. How does that sound?”

Tommy huffed, but seemed to agree, “Fine,” he muttered, an annoyed tint to his voice, but his expression betrayed him, showing how relieved he was to be allowed to get involved.

Dream got to his feet, “If he says you can come, I’ll call you, okay? Go head inside for now,” he spoke quietly, letting a smile rest on his face. Tommy nodded, rising and walking towards the house surrounded by stripped logs, one that Dream had cleaned up and left usable.

When he got back to Ranboo, he frowned again, “Tommy wants to know what’s going on.”

Ranboo looked startled, “Wha- No, no, that won’t end well. I’m guessing no one showing up upset him, and if he thinks Tubbo did that...I-I don’t know what he’d do,” he muttered, racing through the possibilities in his head. 

“I do,” Dream mumbled, words getting lost in the wind as he reminisced on the burning feeling on his skin as he grabbed Tommy’s wrist and hoisted him back up over the edge, almost a millisecond too late. He gulped, brushing that memory away, “He’s gonna know at some point, but I agree, it’d be best to tell him later. If-” he hesitated, “If you need to get away from Tubbo sometimes, I’m sure Tommy wouldn’t mind some company here.”

The offer was hidden, but Ranboo could tell what he meant. ‘If you need to run away, this place is open to you.’ 

“I might take you up on that offer, but I want to figure out if I’m right first. If-” he gulped, “If I really did do that, I don’t want to falsely accuse Tubbo of lying. I’ll stay there for a little longer, but the second I find out the truth, I..I-I’ll accept your offer.”


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw//  
> memory loss  
> mild panic

Ranboo regretted not accepting the offer instantly.

Tubbo was already suspicious, waiting for him at the nether portal, giving him a fright when he stepped out and saw the president waiting absentmindedly for him.

“Minutes man!” Tubbo called, cheerfully...too cheerful. Ranboo narrowed his eyes, a pit opening in his stomach, twisting his heart and making his words fall like boulders.

“Mr President, hi! Any-uh, any particular reason you’re waiting at the portal, or…?” He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. In his pockets, he clenched and unclenched his fists, something he often used to distract his mind. 

Tubbo frowned, “I thought you wrote it down?” He gestured to the book, “You missed a meeting today, you organized it with Fundy? Did you already forget?” He saw Ranboo open and close his mouth, blubbering over hushed, incoherent words falling from his lips as he panickedly flipped through his memory book. “It’s okay, don’t- don’t stress yourself over it. No one’s angry, it wasn’t important or anything, Fundy’s just a little upset,” Tubbos words were soft, and Ranboos hand stilled, looking up at him and nodding.

“I-Yeah, yeah, okay. Where is he?” 

He nodded in the direction of the old camarvan, “Down there, by the drug van, he said no one would bother him there.”

Ranboo thanked him, and quickly set off.

Sure enough, Fundy was there, sat atop the roof, knees drawn to his chest, watching the sunset quietly. Ranboo clenched his fists, and suddenly he was sat at the fox hybrids side. Fundy didn’t seem bothered by the sudden company. The two sat there in momentary silence before Fundy scoffed, turning to face him.

“You ‘forgot’, huh?” He muttered bitterly. Ranboo didn’t know how to respond. “Y’know, Ranboo, I thought this job meant a lot to you. I thought  _ we  _ meant a lot to you. But you fucked off for the whole day to go work on your stupid fucking house.”

“That’s not where I was,” Ranboo interjected, a guily expression morphed onto his face. 

His eyebrows shot up, “Really? Alright, then where were you?” The words tasted bitter as he spat them out, sarcasm leaking from them as his anger increased. He never asked anything of him, never, but the meeting the three organised he couldn’t bother to even show up to. It was important, the fate of L’Manberg rested within the words discussed inside of those four walls, and he wasn’t even fucking there.

Ranboo was silent for a moment, straining his memory back to when he stumbled out of the nether, but he couldn’t think of why he had been in there. “I don’t- I- I don’t remember,” he breathed out shakily, “Why don’t I remember? It was five minutes ago, why don’t I remember?” He was quiet, words falling on deaf ears as the wind muffled his whispers. “I was- Nether, Nether! I was in the Nether, but why? Why was I-” He cut himself off.

As mad as he was, Fundy still felt sympathy tug at his heart as he watched Ranboo mutter panickedly under his breath, unable to decipher any of his words due to the breeze that whisked them away. He saw the boy grab the leather bound book he carried everywhere and flick to somewhere near the last page, and his face fell.

“Oh.”

“Well, Ranboo? Where were you? What did you deem more important than  _ the  _ most important meeting ever held here that decides the fate of this fucking country?”

“Important? Tubbo said it didn’t matter that I missed it-” He broke off, seeing Fundy’s face fall and twist into something resemblng crestfallen, and he returned to the page of the book, and he narrowed his eyes, seemingly scolding himself for forgetting, “Of course Tubbo said that,  _ of course  _ Tubbo said that,” he muttered.

This time, he was loud enough for Fundy to pick up on it, and the dejected expression morphed into confusion, “What- Brushing past the obvious lie, what do you mean of course he said that?”

Ranboo hesitated. Fundy was trustworthy. No, no, he was a spy, he used to spy on Schlatt. But the book- he was under the trusted section! So was Tubbo.

He silenced the internal war, “You can’t- what I tell you now, you can  _ never  _ repeat, got it?” 

Fundy looked more concerned than baffled, but he still nodded. 

“I think Tubbo’s been lying to me about things,” It was easier to start now that he had already blurted it out to Dream, “I mean, today, the second I got out of the portal, he was there, told me that I missed the meeting you and I organised, that I’d upset you-"

His voice was small, and hurt echoed from his words, “...What?” he gulped, “He said us two organised it? No, no, he helped too! He came up with the idea, it was- it was his job to go and get you-! He told me like an hour ago that the credit for the meeting would be split between us three!” 

Ranboo bit his tongue, holding back a scathing remark towards Tubbo, “Then this part will sound less insane. Tommy held a party, only a few days back, sent out invites and everything, and- and according to Tubbo, I-I went around and burned every one of them.”

The silence was heavy, and Fundy looked intrigued, so he continued.

“But I think- I think he was lying, because one, I would never do that, and two, it was never mentioned in here,” he passed the book over, leaving it open on the page.

Fundy’s eyebrows shot up, “No, no, no,” he muttered, eyes widening further as he read the words.

“You don’t believe me, I get it, I wouldn’t either, but-”

“Ranboo, shut up for a second,” Funny mumbled, but there was no fire behind the words, “You don’t recognise this handwriting?” There was silence, and he took it as a no, “Ranboo, this is identical to Tubbo’s handwriting.”


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw//  
> memory loss
> 
> AYO SHORT TUBBO CHAPTER THAT MAY OR MAY NOT PROVIDE SOME REASON TO HIS ACTIONS 👀  
> [also to anyone who hasnt read my othr fics n doesnt know, i got a new computer and holy fuck the keyboard is hard to type on, so writing is hard rn while i adapt, AND i wont be responding to comments bc theres 140 of them and i cant reply to them all!! ill try n respond to a few, but pls dont be sad if i miss urs!!]

Tubbo was nervous.

No, scratch that, he was fucking terrified.

Every where he went, he felt angry glares prickling his skin, not only from citizens but from fellow cabinet members too. Fundy was more often than not glaring daggers at him, and even Ranboo had started to fear him, flinching away whenever Tubbo spoke in his general direction.

That wasn’t even the main reason he was scared.

His memory had started fucking up.

It hadn’t started too badly, just a few missing conversations he could no longer recall, but eventually it got to the point he would zone back in at his desk, staring absently at the wall, having absolutely no memory of the day at all.

He never mentioned it though, no, nodding and playing along with the people around him, pretending the days he spent with them weren’t just complete blanks in his mind.

Quackity was the first to notice, spending nearly all of his days with the president, drafting up ideas for solutions to L’Manberg's problems. When the mere _day_ after the two had completely planned a solution Tubbo had approached, asking to meet with him to solve the exact same problem, he had noticed it.

Tubbo quickly denied it, laughing it off and pretending that he was just joking around, but when he failed to recite a single idea they’d had, Quackity could tell something was up.

He had spilled it all then, ashamedly muttering about how he would black out for nearly the entire day, always zoning back in at his desk around nightfall, not even remembering waking up. His fear had taken control of him, and he couldn’t stop his words after they started, falling from his mouth rapidly. In a short amount of time, he had revealed that he had no memory of half of the shit he was told he’d done, but he was too afraid to reveal it in fear of losing his presidency.

And Quackity sat and listened, eyebrows furrowed, mouth pulled into a frown. “You’re not just...saying this so you don’t get blamed?” Despite the venom in his words, his tone was soft and genuine, intrigued to the situation. 

“What would I be blamed for?”

That was what had snapped the last wire, the raw fear in his wobbling voice, the trembling of his lips and gloss in his eyes enough to show Quackity he was not lying. 

So he explained it all, how Tubbo had become a ‘corrupt’ president, denying Dream’s offers to let Tommy return, fighting with Ranboo and Fundy constantly, carrying out cruel missions and claiming his other staff members did it.

Tubbo felt like he was going to be sick.

It was finally adding up.

After Quackity left to let the boy nap and recover from what had been dumped onto him, Tubbo locked his office door. He sat by the windowsill momentarily, mulling over his options before clicking the lock of the window, taking a deep breath. He snuck out, knowing exactly where he needed to go. 

The library of the Dreamon hunters.


	12. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the little break lol, i finished up my other stories, so this will be my main focus until it's done :]
> 
> tw//  
> -slight panic  
> -memory loss
> 
> i might miss some, lmk if i do!

Fundy had been surprisingly helpful, sitting beside Ranboo and pinpointing any pages that could have possibly been written by Tubbo. They sat there until the sun went down, and the moon arose to swap roles. There was a total of fourty five pages, and Ranboo had bitten his lip in worry. That was fourty five days alone under Tubbo’s control, with no way of remembering it. The other boy had sensed it and sent him an easy smile, promising that he would help in any way he could.

That started with helping Ranboo clear the panic that had sparked up inside his brain. Fundy loosely grabbed his wrist, jumped down from the camarvan roof and started walking, Ranboo in tow. The two walked around the entirety of L’Manberg, talking absentmindedly and basking in the moonlight before Ranboo had the idea to go to the library, knowing that the comfort of the bookshelf-lined walls always helped.

Of course, Fundy went along with him, opening up the door and immediately stumbling back.

Tubbo was sat on the floor, surrounded by a circle of books, and he looked like shit. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead, his eyes were wide and frantic, lips moving constantly, mumbling to himself. His hands moved sharply from book to book, flicking through the contents before flinging it across the room, collapsing against the wall behind him.

Ranboo had frozen at the sight of him, and Fundy shifted so he was half in front of the boy, though he was still easy to see, Fundy only came up to his shoulder. 

Fundy had sensed Ranboo’s fear, and had muttered, “Run,” in a voice so soft he doubted Ranboo could even hear. Yet he could feel the chill behind him ease away, and the sound of retreating footsteps. He cleared his throat, not just to get the president's attention but to cover up the sound of Ranboo’s boots and Tubbo’s head snapped up to look, eyes widening a little more. 

“Fundy! Hey,” There was a forced happiness in his voice, before he blinked harshly, and suddenly there was a smile too, along with a newfound glint in his eye and a much more sincere tone, “Good to see you!”

“Tubbo,” Fundy nodded politely, masking his worry for the obviously distressed teen, “Good to see you too man. Any particular reason for a night time visit to the library, or…?” As much as he tried, his tone was strained, smile pulled a little too taught, eyebrows furrowed more than usual.

The boy in question scanned the books around him, and an unreadable expression flickered across his face momentarily, “Just doing a little reading to destress, y’know?” Despite the carefree expression, there was a hint of barely restrained anger in his tone. 

Fundy may be oblivious, but he was not an idiot. Tubbo never spoke about being stressed, ever, in fact, Tubbo never spoke about how he felt at all. And Tubbo never read to destress, no, reading had quite the opposite effect on him, Tubbo preferred music discs to calm down, he knew this. 

But the frantic whirring of his brain and the struggle not to race after Ranboo had distracted him from the boys slip up.

“Just went for a walk, thought I’d just sit in here for a moment, but if you’re busy, I’ll leave you too it,” Fundy left no room for interjection, continuing to talk as he backed out the room, “I’ll see you in the morning, Mr President.”

He slammed the door shut.

“Ranboo?” 

Dream noticed him the second he stepped through the portal, having been sat on the beach himself, fishing rod in hand.

What are you doing back here so soon?”

“Saw Tubbo. Panicked a little,” Ranboo stated with a miserable shrug, hands shoved into his pockets, clenching and unclenching his fists beneath the fabric. 

“Tommy’s awake, and up for talking now, if you wanna see him. He’s just in there,” Dream nodded towards Ghostburs caravan, barely taking his eyes off of the water. 

Ranboo nodded, mumbling a quiet ‘thank you’ as he slipped past the man, climbing the steps to the caravan door. It was open, but he still knocked, seeing Tommy’s head snap up.

“Hi, Ranboo,” he mumbled, voice still holding traces of hoarseness due to misuse. “C’mon, don’t just linger in the doorway,” he patted the floor next to him. 

The boy obliged, sitting legs-crossed next to him, “How are you doing?” he asked softly, seeing the ice pack clenched in the boy’s hands, half melted as if it had been there for hours. 

“Eh,” Tommy shrugged, “A little better than before,” that wasn’t a complete lie. He had been doing better, managing to stomach at least a quarter of a meal, drinking a little more, but he felt no better. The sinking pit in his heart never left, nor did the relentless hallucinations.

He still looked sick, even if he had been improving, eyebags never leaving, sunken in face and a sudden decrease in weight.

“Good, good,” Ranboo smiled weakly, eyes flickering down to the ice pack again. He noticed the white-knuckled grip Tommy held, along with the now yellow tint to his skin, blue veins showing through the yellow, sharp bones jutting out on the back of his hand. Even his hands looked sickly.

“What about you, big man?”   
Ranboo hesitated before plastering on a more sincere smile, “I’m okay.”

Tommy merely hummed in response.

“What’ve you been up to over here?"

The boy paused, seemingly thinking over his words before blurting them out, “Nothing much, had a party the other day, don’t know what happened but it ended up being just me and Dream. Which I don’t mind, y’know? I thought I’d hate him, but he’s changed a lot,” Tommy rambled, getting to the topic of the party and immediately swerving.

Guilt rose up in Ranboo’s throat, and a sinking feeling erupted in his stomach, but Tommy had continued, asking in a meek voice, “How’s L’Manberg doing?”

There was another slight pause, before Ranboo began speaking, picking his words carefully, “It’s going okay, not great, but not much worse than before. Still sucks without you there though. Fundy misses you, y’know? He told me earlier today. Won’t shut up about the sudden lack of furry jokes. Q does too, keeps complaining that paper work would be much easier with you there, but I think that’s just him being clingy,” he nudged Tommy’s shoulder jokingly, an easy smile resting on his face.

Tommy had seemed to cheer up at that, “Really? What about Tubbo? Does he miss me?”

Ranboo could hear the sudden hopeful tone in the boy’s voice, and he couldn’t bring himself to tell him the truth,so he smiled and strained out what was a blatant lie.

"The most.”


	13. 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sheesh havent updated in a while sorry bros  
> been hyperfixated on the dream smp and the recent streams were a LOT,,,so ive been rewatching them constantly and working on a ghostinnit fic to fit the timeline so 👀  
> have some fluffy ranboo and tommy bonding as an apology while i work on a lore chapter sorry again my dudes
> 
> tw //  
> -past suicide attempt mention  
> -hallucination mention

Things were looking up.

It was hard, sure, but that was expected when looking after two traumatized teenagers. Still, it was getting better.

Tommy was happier, talking a little more each day. He’d set up a farm around the area upon the mountain beside Logstedshire. He’d sewn wheat seeds, carrots and flowers into the small fenced off area, with the help of Dream. He’d even started getting attached to things again, letting himself finally cling to items after so long with a heart-wrenching dread. A wandering calf had stumbled into his tent one night, and he’d adopted it instantly, naming him Henry Jr Jr. 

Ranboo had taken shelter in the caravan while his house was built, but with the three of them, it had been done in a matter of days. Tommy had been thankful of being given something to do and had worked the hardest of them all, spending a good chunk of his day carefully crafting bricks.

The home was small, sure, but he preferred that. It was the homely sort of small, big enough to comfortably fit two people, four at a stretch, but still small enough to not feel daunting. It was sculpted out of grey bricks, small faintly white-tinted windows and warm brown doors, and even just the exterior was enough to make someone feel at home instantly. Moss and vines had been placed around the outskirts, growing upon the walls and radiating a rustic atmosphere.

The inside was better, all soft grey walls and pale wooden structures, an open plan theme within the rooms. Plants and flowers were stuffed into every spare space, knitted white rugs draped across the birch floors, pictures hung upon the walls. The main areas were just one big room, kitchen tucked away in the corner, living room spaced out. Warm mahogany stairs led up to the second floor, where two bedrooms and a single bathroom laid. 

Dream’s home was similar, positioned beside the portal, this one built from dark nether bricks and white concrete for the roof. It was more modern than the rustic build mere meters away. He was still setting up the final room in his house, but other than that the entire house had been completed, and it gave him the option to keep a closer watch on Tommy.

Ranboo, however, was still oblivious to Tommy’s mental state, and in return, Tommy was oblivious to the memory situation.

Still, living there together helped them bond, something both boys desperately needed.

Fundy had visited, after Ranboo had sent the co-ordinates to both him and Quackity, and, though he’d denied it later, Tommy had practically smothered him in a hug. He stayed there for a good half of a day, catching up with Tommy and spending his time joking around before having to return to L’Manberg for his job. Neither of them were close, but they were family, and Tommy couldn’t bare to let them leave Fundy the way they’d left him.

Hell, even Quackity had stayed briefly on his lunch break, promising to visit properly at a later time, dropping off a few items he’d noticed had been left around that once belonged to Tommy. He’d told Tommy of how L’Manberg had been failing without him, the same way Ranboo had. It was common sense not to mention Tubbo, so he steered clear from the topic of the boy.

Tommy had appreciated the visits, really, he had, but that wasn’t to say he was still glum.

The hallucinations persisted, so sleep was scarce. Every time he laid his head upon his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut and begging for sleep, he would feel a hand on his shoulder, poking him, and he’d look up to see a much younger, giggly version of Tubbo trying to drag him out of bed. It was impossible to say no to the bright-eyed, grinning boy before him, so Tommy would end up at the beach almost nightly, falling asleep upon the sand.

Though, since Ranboo's house had a spare bedroom, and the offer had been made, Tommy had moved in. It hadn’t done much to stop the hallucinations, but Tommy was reassured by another presence mere rooms away. 

Even with another person there, Dream didn’t stop helping the boy, insisting that if he needed reassuring about what was real and what wasn’t, Tommy was more than welcome to ask. The question was always presented in a series of longer taps to Dream’s wrist, the more taps, the more panicked he was about the hallucinations, and Dream would always shake his head in response, because they were just that, hallucinations. Tommy still found himself showing his thankfulness through two taps to the back of the hand or the shoulder, unable to get the words out.

It had confused Ranboo at first, when he’d helped Tommy carry his items to his room and got two taps and a hug in response, but Dream had explained it to him later, and although he didn’t understand it, he still knew when Tommy was thankful.

Though the oblivious period had crumbled quickly, and, just because life loved throwing shit at them, it was on the one day Dream had left.

Ranboo had come up with ideas to do throughout the day, quickly listing them off and each one getting shot down. 

“We could go organise the farm?” 

Tommy groaned, falling onto his back, the warm grass tickling his back. “Boring,” he complained, “the only good thing about that farm is Henry Jr Jr, and he’s sleeping.”

“Fishing?”

He huffed in response.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he remarked, amused, “Hey, you haven’t got netherite here, right? Why don’t we go netherite mining?” He offered, still smiling brightly as he tugged out handfuls of grass from the ground absentmindedly.

“Not allowed in the nether,” Tommy blurted out, simply watching the clouds glide by.

There was a moment of silence before Ranboo spoke up, “No, no I think you are. I thought it was just L’Manberg and the Dream SMP you can’t go to?”

“Not for exile reasons, memory boy, Dream keeps the portal tracked, I’m not allowed in there,” Tommy continued, not realising how bad his words sounded from another perspective without context.

Ranboo furrowed his brows in worry, that sounded weirdly controlling for Dream, who had very clearly changed his ways. “He...stops you going from the nether? Isn’t that a little, y’know, overprotective?"

Tommy’s eyebrows shot up, “No! No, no, he’s not doing it to, like, keep me controlled or make me all sad and shit. It’s good that he’s not letting me to go to the Nether, he has a reason, promise,” he smiled reassuringly, patting Ranboo’s shoulder. 

“Why?” he asked cautiously.

The boy averted his eyes and bit his lip, “Uh, might’ve tried to, y’know, go for a permanent swim? In the lava? Maybe?”

There was a moment of silence before Ranboo spoke up, voice hesitant, “You...tried to jump? As in, y'know, kill yourself?”

“It was more of a fall, really, I forgot the whole jumping part and nearly face-planted. Dream caught me though, literally in mid air, that’s why he’s so protective. He won't admit it though, but you can tell,” Tommy kept his tone light hearted. He hated being the one to throw in the wrench and fuck up a happy conversation, so the smile stayed plastered onto his face. 

“Did- Are you okay?” Ranboo’s voice was hushed, soft and concerned, but not pitying, no, there was a complete absence of pity in his tone, and Tommy appreciated that, letting out a breathy chuckle.

“Bit rocky, but haven’t tried to off myself anymore, so that’s a start.”


End file.
